Card rack



- G. L. GQODWTN a Jul 10, 192.8.

Patented July 10, 1928.

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; entree stares earesrerrica GEORGE L. eoonwrmor CHICAGO, ILLII-T.OIS,-A,SS1GNOR TO THE INTE NATI NAL 'ooM- IvIrT'rnE or YOUNG MENS crrnrsrran AssooIA rIoNs, or new YORK, N. Y., A COR- IEORATION OF NEKV YQRK.

eAnn nacx,

Application filerl september 18, 1924. Serial No. 738,333.

This invention relates to a rack inwhich a relatlvely large number of cards may be conveniently placed in any desired grouping line of endeavor where a large number of duced behind the tongues.

persons are concerned, and in the carrying on of which endeavor it is desirable to present for ready comparison the numbers of persons collected by different teams engaged in the work. a

The object of the invention is to provide a card rack which, notwithstanding it is made merely by inverted louvers or tonguelike portions "from a sheet, will nevertheless be very eflicient in gripping the cards intro- Accordingly, while the invention follows known methods to the extent of using tongues punched from a sheet of appropriately stiff material .to provide members behind which cards can be placed, it differs therefrom in that,'instead of flexing the card-engaging members upon straight lines extending across the bases of such members, it causes these members, herein called louvers, to yield upon lines extending from each lower corner of the louver inwardly and downwardly toward the opening left by the formation of the next lower louver, and to arch outwardly about vertical axes but without any fixed line or definition of flexure, with the result that the louver is stiffened against flexing on horizontal lines and its gripping effect is maintained at substantially higher efliciency, and continues to be efficient much longer than when fiexure is along a singledefinite line, because the latter soon results in breaking of the fibers/ The new effect will be appreciated when it is considered that outward displacement of the louver sutiici-ent to admit a card behind it, develops largely from an outward arching of a substantial area of the sheet material lying between the base of the louver and the next opening below it.

In order that the invention may be fully,

understood, a preferred embodiment thereof is shown in the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a face view-of a card rack.

constructed in accordance with the present invention, and Figure 2 is an edge view of the same. In carrying out the invention, a sheet 1 of tag board, or equivalent stiff material, having an area suflicient to provide holding louvers for the desired number of cards, is

punched by a suitable die to provide a vertical series of louvers 2, each of which constitutes a segment of'a circle or other shape defined by lines that leave it free to move relatively to the main body of the sheet sufficiently to admit behind it a card that is to be displayed to view. The louv-ers 2 are located sutficiently close together to develop I relatively rest 'icted areas 3 between the corners 2 of each louver, and the nearest-point in the opening, left by the next louver 2 beneath it, while the area of the original sheet material lying horizontally between the two corners 2 ot louver is left unscored and otherwise intact sothat it retainsthe original rigidity of the sheet material and offers no tendency'to induce flexing of the base of the louver on such line, but rather leads toward displacement of the louver incident to the location of a card 4 behind it, and induces flexure along lines more or less indefinite and inconstant, but corresponding approximately to the lines 3, the effect being, to some extent, at least, in the nature of an arching of the relatively narrow strip of material indicated by the lines 3, with the result that the louver remains quite stiff and efiicient in the matter of gripping the card and holding it in' close parallelism with the body of the sheet or the surface of a card over which it laps.

The distance between the several louvers will be largely controlled by the extent to which each card is to be exposed above the card which lies beneath it, but this distance should not be so great as to bring the dimension indicated by the lines 3, anywhere near the distance between the twov corners 2 which would result in inducing flexure of the louver along its horizontal base line or chord instead of arching under displacement by theicard.

The louvers will preferably be arranged in a number of vertical series as shown in igure 1, which may be distinguished in any desired manner as is suggested by the group indexes A, B, C and D used upon the drawing.

Inpractice the card rack will be suitably suspended from its top, as for instance by engaging its perforations 5 with any suitable means of support.

I claim:

V A card rack comprising a sheet of flexible material having a vertical series of slits cut therein to form a vertical column of card holding straps, each strap comprising all of the sheet material lying between adjacent slits and margins of uncut material on each side thereof resiliently resistant to displacement toward said column ofstraps, each strap normally lying in the plane of'said sheet and the portion of each strap lying between its ends being displaceable from said plane outwardly to admit a card behind it and by said outward displacement imposing tension on the margins in the plane of the sheet, whereby the resistance of said margins tends to restore said tongues to their normal plane and grip the inserted card.

' Signed at Chicago, Illinois, this 13th day of September, 1924.

GEORGE L. GOODVVIN. 

